My journey from Brooklyn, New York January 4, 2007 to the World Cup Final match July 11, 2010 in South Africa. How will I get there? I have no idea. Join me as I travel around Africa, write a book, make some friends and watch the beautiful game!

Monday, March 25, 2013

Montenegro coach Branko Brnovic thinks that England are running scared ahead of their vital World Cup Qualifier in Podgorica on Tuesday, and he has accused the English players and media of making their excuses before the game even kicks off.

Montenegro’s biggest threat certainly comes from their two strikers, Stevan Jovetic and Mirko Vucinic who both ply their trade in Italy, with Fiorentina and Juventus respectively.

As well as making their mark on the Italian domestic game the two both have good goalscoring records in European football and have bagged 24 goals in 53 international games between them and Brnovic hopes that the pair can make light of Roy Hodgson’s defensive selection headache on Tuesday.

"We have Stevan Jovetic and Mirko Vucinic. Maybe England are more scared of this game than we are," Brnovic said to Premier League betting news pundits.

The last time that England played away in Montenegro, in October 2011, they came away with a 2-2 draw but, at that stage, their qualification for Euro 2012 was as good as secure.

On Tuesday, however, England must win to kick start their World Cup 2014 qualification campaign and Brnovic knows that the pressure will firmly be on the Group H favourites.

This, he suggests, could explain why the English media are already making excuses for England’s performance; "I can say such English legends and journalists are already trying to resort to excuses for what will happen on Tuesday. Everything seems to bother them," he said to the football betting news.

England will certainly not get an easy ride in Montenegro but they should be confident that they have the necessary quality to dispatch Brnovic’s side.

If, as the Montenegro coach, hopes England are provoked by his words and allow themselves into a dog-fight then they could come away from Podgorica with little to show and little chance left of topping Group H.